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“That’s good.”

Coop knew when something was bothering his daughter. She stood there, quiet as a mouse.

He lifted her chin gently with his index finger until she met his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Tears pooled in her eyes. “It’s my fault she got hurt.”

Wow. He hadn’t expected that. His daughter surprised him sometimes. Tough on the outside, but inside she was soft as a marshmallow. She had her mother’s good heart.

“And what makes you think that?”

“I asked her to come to my game. If I didn’t ask her, she wouldn’t have come and gotten hurt.” Cassie’s lips quivered.

It hurt to see her lay the blame on herself, but he mustered up and told it like it was. “It’s not your fault, Cass. You didn’t make her agree to come. The decisions adults make are usually well thought out. If she didn’t want to come, she wouldn’t have. It’s like if I asked you to pick up your toys outside, and you go running down the steps and trip, is it my fault you tripped and got hurt because I asked you to clean up?”

She shook her head. “No, but, Daddy, I heard you tell Grandpa Joe it was your fault that Mommy died. Because you sent her to the market for ice cream and she…she never came back.”

Coop’s breath caught in his throat. Everything stilled inside as a slow burn began to slide down to his gut. He had no idea Cassie had overheard that conversation. He didn’t voice his guilt often, but it was always there, just on the edge of his mind, batting him over the head to remind him if he ever found some peace. He’d blamed himself from day one and his child was motherless because of it.

If only he hadn’t craved ice cream that day. If only she hadn’t volunteered to get it for him. It was a cruel twist of fate that his love of ice cream would result in his wife’s death.

He wrapped his hands gently around Cassie’s arms, making direct eye contact with her sad blue eyes.

“And, Cass, you know what Grandpa said to me? Did you hear that?”

She shook her head. “I don’t remember.”

“He said that it was an accident. That it was nobody’s fault. Grandpa said I shouldn’t feel guilty about Mommy loving me enough to make me happy. And I…I try not to. I try to remember the good times we had with her. I listened to my father. Do you think you can listen to yours? About Taylor? It’s not your fault. Taylor doesn’t blame you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m absolutely sure,” he promised her.

He couldn’t have her beating herself up when her heart had been in the right place.

“I guess Taylor didn’t know what ‘heads up’ meant.”

“She knows now.” He knocked a fist to his head. “It was a hard lesson.”

The frown on Cassie’s face lifted. “I don’t think she’ll ever forget it, Daddy.”

He wouldn’t either. It could’ve been much worse for Taylor. “Probably not.” He touched the very tip of her freckled nose. “Hey, I remember a time when someone caught the ball with her nose.”

She giggled. “That was dumb. And it didn’t feel good.”

“Nah, you weren’t dumb, but you learned a lesson that day too.”

It had scared the stuffing out of him seeing that ball collide with her face. She’d fractured a bone in her nose and the doctor had said it would heal on its own. “But you’ve never made that mistake again. Now you use your mitt as your protection, not your face.”

She giggled again.

“It’s getting late, sweetheart. Are you feeling better now?”

She nodded.

“Good. Now off to bed.” He kissed her forehead. “Love ya, Cass.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed tight. “Love you too, Daddy.”